This Light I See
by annyenil
Summary: What do a Fallen Princess, a Blind Reckless Soul, an Overeating Servant and Somebody have to do with one another? Bleach OC. Dedicated to Pig, Blurpoke and Tani.
1. I Want to Be a Shinigami Part 1

**Author's Note: **This is my first Bleach fanfic. Please excuse my jejune writings.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

**This Light I See**

By annyenil

Toukaba Houseki had been wandering on the streets for a few days. Rukongai was no place for her. She was kicked out of the house she had been living in because she stood up to the adult when her "brother" wanted an extra bag of confetti candy. She was flouted. They always said, "Houseki again? She thinks she's still a royalty?"

Houseki's family used to be one of the great noble clans in Rukongai. But about 10 centuries ago, her grandfather was forced to abdicate his powerful position in the Gotei 13 and the Toubaka clan was expelled from Sereitei. It was a grave mistake, an indelible mark, though Houseki was never told how, or what had occured. She has been alone since she was born, left on the streets of the 73rd district on Rukongai. And that was when she met a little girl with amber, wavy hair and a maternal air. Together, they became best friends.

Then one day, her friend was taken away, leaving Houseki all alone again. All she had of her friend was a pink ribbon. Ever since then, she has been plagued by a constant nightmare of a face. A countenance……yet so malicious….white……

She swore she would get stronger. She would strengthen her reiatsu and become a shinigami, so that she could find her old friend back, so that she could avenge the Nightmare. So that she could leave this darkness forever.

The last descendant of the Toukaba clan was known to be a lunatic. She walked her flaneur's promenade to the edge of a murky river, looking at her reflection intensely. It was blurred, it was sallow. It was just who she was: a fallen princess.

"I want to be a shinigami." She tells everyone.


	2. I Want to Be a Shinigami Part 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

**This Light I See**

By annyenil

Kyoru Satomo was a happy girl. She had nothing to worry about. It wasn't like she led a debauching life like those nobles living inside of the Gates. She was merely contented with life. Living on the 1st district of Rukongai gave her the security someone like her needed. So did her brother. Not her blood brother, of course, that one was probably still alive and long forgotten. But her adoptive elder brother, a strong boy who saved her only out of chivalry, but ended up her only family on the outskirts of the district.

Life was rough for her. Kyoru couldn't see. Life wasn't destitute in the first district, but it wasn't awfully comfortable either. Kyoru was often bullied by the other children running wanton in the streets. The children of Rukongai, be it from the 1st or 80th district are all the same: hooligans on the loose. Of course there were exceptions.

She remembered once when she was younger, there was a mob of children who derided her blindness and tried to beat her up. Kyoru could not tell where her opponents were coming from, and was injured severely. She remembered panting, trembling on the ground, dust lining up in her windpipes. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't see. She thought she might just die again.

Suddenly, there was a flash of light. It pummeled at the other children and they scattered, screaming in fear. For the first time in her life, she thought she saw something. Something that her instinct told her was called "white". Of course, she wasn't sure, and there were no means of confirmation, but she believed firmly that she did see a flash of white that saved her from the other children.

"Who...are you?" She asked feebly.

The voice yield no answer except the trail of footsteps away from where she was. Even that was pretty succinct.

"Kyoru!" After what seemed like a millenium, which wasn't really that long, a pair of familiar arms gathered her up from the ground. There was warmth and concern. It was her brother. Her brother was late, so an angel came in his place?

"Nii-san..." Kyoru passed out.

As though like a nightmare that never ended, when she woke up, the world was pitch black, and her Nii-san was gone. Just like that. Gone forever.

She could feel the hatred wreaking fracas within her. She hated her Nii-san for abandoning her. But she could do nothing. Her friend Momo told her that her brother had gone to become a shinigami.

"What's a shinigami?" Kyoru asked.

"It's a realy, really grand thing to be." Momo answered, her bright eyes sparkling, "I want to be one too."

After some consideration, Kyoru looked at Momo, or at least where she felt Momo's reiatsu was, and said, "I want to be a shinigami, too."


	3. I Want to Be a Shinigami Part 3

**Author's Note: **This is the last of the anecdotes introducing our three OCs. I wonder who those shinigami are……hehe

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach

**This Light I See**

By annyenil

Utsukushii Taberu was the most ordinary soul there could ever be. She was relatively normal in her appearance, in her behaviour, and except for her slight tendency to overeat, she had no remarkable idiosyncrasies. There was a strange business with her though, she was born in the house of a noble clan, one of the greatest. But she herself bore no noble blood. Taberu was the daughter of a body guard in the clan. She was born to guard the future head of the clan.

The ironic part was that the head of clan, even in his relative youth, was much stronger than any of the guards, so the Guard Squad was often dispatched to do the chores of a servant, which was fine on Taberu's part.

During her free time, Taberu liked to wander about on the streets of Sereitei. Sometimes, she would meet her fellow guard-servants and they'd have a sake party. Sometimes she would see officers from a distance and tries to make herself inconspicuous. It was during one of those walks where she first met her best friend, Hana-chan. She never asked where he came from. And he never asked her either. They often sat side by side outside the clan house and whisper to each other about those tall, austere-looking officers. If they were lucky, they might even catch sight of a Ranked Officer or even better, a Taichou.

"Hana-chan, what do you want to be when you grow up?" She asked once.

"A shinigami, of course."

"What kind of shinigami?"

"The kind that helps people. Although I doubt I will be able to make it. I am quite mediocre, you know."

"I'm sure you will make a good shinigami, Hana-chan." Taberu said so and believed it. She, on the other hand, was not sure what would become of her. The selections for the Shinigami Academy was drawing near and after her years of service as a Guard-Servant, she was still uncertain of her reiatsu. It was fluctuating greatly and the unstability was not in her favour.

"Tabi-chan, I'm leaving next week." Hana-chan told her.

"I am so glad for you." Taberu smiled sincerely. At least her friend was going to become a shinigami.

"You will be all right, won't you? I will come by to see you."

"Sayonara, Hana-chan!"

"Sayonara, Tabi-chan!"

Although she was smiling, a tear trickled precariously at the corner of her eye. She lumbered back to the backhouse. On the way, she passed by the vast courtyard of the Clan Master House. It was empty except for the full Cherry blooms of May. "Ah! I will sure miss Hana-chan." She thought sadly. As though a corollary in the drama, a figure caught her attention. It was a boy not much older than she was. He was slashing about a sword along, at nobody.

She ventured closer. There were cherry petals everywhere, and he seemed to be at the centre of the confluence.

"Are you alright? Why are you slashing your sword at nobody? Are you angry?" Taberu asked, her eyes concerned.

"Imbeciles." He didn't look at her, but merely muttered the word and continued the gestures. A fellow guard-servant spotted her and quickly pulled her away, apologising profusely to the rude, callous boy.

"Taberu! How dared you address our master?" Her guard-servant senpai demanded.

"That boy is our master? I have never seen him before."

"Of course you haven't. You are not supposed to."

"Why was he slashing at the air? Is he mental?"

"Shush!"

"Why, senpai?"

"Because he is a shinigami. Now run along."

Taberu followed her orders to appease her agitated senpai, but she sneaked back to the courtyard everyday to gaze at the air-slashing boy.

"Shinigami..." Taberu glanced at her own hands. The glow of her reiatsu was lighter than those beautiful cherry petals gently carassing her. Her heart was full of adulation for the boy in the courtyard.

She might be weak and obsolete, but at least she dared dream.

"I want to be a shinigami." Taberu avowed amidst roars of laughter from the Guard Squad House.


	4. The First Test

**Author's Note: **And the story begins……Please R&R)

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach

**This Light I See**

By annyenil

"Hmmm. The first-formers all look pretty mousy, don't you think, Izuru?" A bored Abarai Renji motioned to his friend and training partner. "C'mon, Abarai-kun, you were like that in first form too!" Hinamori Momo said earnestly, "Besides, they all look so cute!"

"You call that cute?" Renji pointed at a boy with a squat face and purple hair, his eyes squashed together as though God was being frugal with his face space. "Er...Ahem." Kira shrugged, "Well, that purple coiffeur is pretty popular now, isn't it."

"Because...?" HInamori's eyes widened.

"Gosh, Hinamori, don't you know? Ever since Tousen-sama became Taichou of the 9th Division of the Gotei 13, that shade has been really in at the Shinigami Salon House. In fact, I'm considering changing my hair colour." Renji flipped his huge red ponytail and smirked

"Get to work you lazy bump." A whack landed on Renji's red head without clemency. "Hisagi Senpai!" Hinamori's eyes widened and she giggled a little at Renji's frantic attempts to neaten his hair. "Yes, Senpai!" Hastily, the threesom proceeded to the training ground to assist in the First Test of the first-form advanced class.

The First Test, or Chiishiyo Tesuto is the streaming test for any advance-class student to first ensure that they had not somehow deceived their way during the entrance exam into the Shinigami advanced class, and secondly, to determine the rough fate of each shinigami in their future courses in the Shinigami Academy as a Demon Magic or Battle major, etc. Hinamori had done well in the Tesuto on the Demon Magic Portion while Renji was apt with his zanpakutou. Kira, on the other hand, had indeterminate abilities, though it was later surfaced that he was equally well-versed in Demon Magic, and slightly more so with his Battle skills.

"First formers." The sensei's voice thudered through the court, "Let us now begin our Chiishiyo Tesuto. Will Azumi Hoshite please step forward now." A trembling mousy grey-haired girl stepped forward holding her katana. Suddenly, a huge fake hollow fell before her and began its attack. A pungent ordor penetrated through the air, slashing like blood mist. Another first former fell to the ground. A bunch of third-form medics quickly went up to assist.

"Do we-" Renji was just about to step in and help the distressed little first-former when a loud BOOM! shook the entire court. A cloud of flashing red Demon Spell exploded a colossal in the ground and the fake follow was decimated. A few first-formers were propelled towards the ground and were fumbling around.

"NEXT!"

A little boy stepped up to face the Fake hollow, and this time, he raised his sword with so much gusto, even Kira opened his mouth to comment, "That looks decent." The boy elevated himself into the air and slashed downwards at the Fake Hollow with so much force that nothing could be seen except a muffling, chocking cloud of sand. Hinamori coughed a little. To their surprise, the boy completely missed the target and was brushed aside by the Fake Hollow like a little peck of grass. Like a bolt of lightning, and much to the adulation of the first-formers, Renji did shunpo up and gave the Fake Hollow its last hit and it dismaterialised.

"Show off." Hinamori giggled sightly and covered her amused lips with her hand. The Tesuto continued in this manner, sometimes impressive, sometimes devastatingly comical.

"Next." Satomo Kyoru stepped up, her head up high and full of determination. Murmurs went round the group as the Fake Hollow approached. "WRONG DIRECTION! WRONG DIRECTION!" Many first-formers were shouting at her. Kyoru kept turning, but the reiatsu of so many sould made it difficult to distinguish the direction of the Fake Hollow. Suddenly, the Hollow struck. Many closed their eyes in fear for the safety of the little trainee shinigami. Renji immediately got to his feet and was about to attack when a sudden commotion shot him to 10 feet away, covered in unknown glowing substances.

Back at the Fake Hollow, it had its two arms chopped off and was growling with its surly eyes flamed up and nostrils flaring. On the ground, Kyoru had two other girls next to her. On her right was a tall, large girl with a pleasant round face and a bouncy, lilac pony tail. Her eyes were slits that somehow seemed to be observant. She had her zanpakutou out and had slashed an arm off the opponent. On Kyoru's left was a tall, slender girl with a mist about her. She had long, waterfall like golden hair and had cut off the other arm of the Hollow. Kyoru herself was panting and had fired off a very powerful Demon Magic Spell, albeit at Abarai Renji, who was blasted off, being caught off-guard.

"Haha. Now we have something to laugh about over lunch." Kira chuckled and Hinamori giggled again.

"Shut up." Renji groaned as the 3rd-form medics patched up his strangely shaped bruise.


	5. Zabimaru's Haircut

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach

**This Light I See**

By annyenil

"GOMEN NASAI, ABARAI-SAMA!" Satomo Kyoru knelt down before her senpai and bowed deeply, beads of perspiration lined her temple. "Ai, Ai. It's all right." Renji patted her head and waved it off. After all, she was a blind, clueless girl without even a shikai. A pundit like him ought not to bear grudges against those ordinary souls.

"Why are you so dismissive? It's like as though our apology isn't worth your accepting!" An agitated Toukaba Houseki raised her voice the slightest tinge. Within a split second, Houseki, Taberu and even Kyoru were thrown against the hard brick wall with deep cuts across all their cheeks. Renji's facial expression did not budge, but he wasn't stoic. He was enraged beyond words. Quickly, Hinamori comforted the girls while Kira ordered in more medics.

"You." Renji grabbed Kyoru's collar. "You know who Tousen Taichou is?" Kyoru merely nodded her head, her expression completely callous. "You can't even tell DIRECTION? Such a weak ability to detect reiatsu, you make me wonder if you've wasted all you life being blind!"

Kyoru turned her head a little. Renji flung her onto the ground. "If you bothered to train as hard as Tousen Taichou did, then maybe you would realise that your talent and power is beyond the abilities of an ordinary shinigami. But NO! You chose to squander away your powers. You disgust me. Leave. Leave Now." Renji pointed to the door.

Speechlessly, Houseki and Taberu hustled Kyoru out of the door. Not a tear was shed, and not a speck of fear was instilled. Kyoru knew exactly what Abarai-sama meant. Together, the three of them sat and observed the sunset, at least Houseki and Taberu did.

They had a lot of work to do.

"Must you be so hard on those poor little girls?" Hinamori exclaimed as Renji sat back down on the bed, relaxing and patting Zabimaru. "Hmm." He snorted. "What is your zanpakutou doing here?" Kira asked. Renji snorted again.

And then he began to snore. Hinamori giggled a little and left the room to pack her things. It was the senior holiday and she was getting ready to return to Rukongai to visit her favourite Shiro-chan. Kira bid Hinamori good-bye and stared at the ceiling. For that moment, he was desultory. But not for long. He noticed the reason why Renji's Zabimaru had been awaken: It had been injured! By a first-year! Some of Zabimaru's fur had been uprooted! Suddenly, Kira felt that those three little clowns were perhaps more than mere callow ordinary souls.

"Ah. Abarai-san. Still can't say what you mean without having to shout." Kira chuckled and left Renji to snore aloud while he reported to Hisagi the latent talent of the newcomer, Satomo Kyoru.

"What was THAT about?" Taberu said indignantly.

"Abarai-sama was right. I can't keep relying on people to guide me around." Kyoru said, "By the way, I am Satomo Kyoru. Nice to meet you. Thank you for helping me out th--"

"Toukaba Houseki. Don't thank us. That's what friends do."

"Utsukushii Taberu." Taberu said, unable to place words on a sentimental moment. But her heart was curious, "Kyoru, if you can't tell direction, how did you manage this far?"

Kyoru frowned a little, "I'm not sure either. Ever since I had a memory, I never seen anything. I used to be pushed around and pounded even though I lived in the 1st District."  
"Even in the first District? And I managed to live unscrapped in the 53rd, how lucky." Houseki commented. Taberu could find no words, for her life, in comparison, had been less of a melodrama.

Kyoru shrugged and continued, "But as long as I had a memory, I've always remembered that whenever the bullies came, My Ni-san will come and save me. He wasn't really my nii-san, just someone who had chosen to take care of me. I didn't know why either." Houseki sighed. "I wish I had that sort of luck, to have some one protect me. Thank goodness I had been spared from that sort of torture."

"Yeah. I guess I had been kind of lucky, and kind of not."

"Aren't we all?" And they laughed.

There is more training tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after. After all, that is what a shinigami does.


	6. Memories in the Sun

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach

**This Light I See**

By annyenil

"Oh no." The white-haired kid sighed as an all-too-familiar voice once again disrupted his world of order and dignity. And watermelons. The Sun was too bright, the people around him too pedantic to understand his potential. _Only that woman...who was she...? _

But the voice will not let his mind speak, not a second. "SHIRO-KUN!! I AM BACK!!" A second later, a huge bag of clothes and textbooks was plopped next to him. Histugaya Toushirou kept his head down, partly dodging the glaring summer heat and partly avoiding his all-too-excitable friend. "Ah. Bed-wetter Momo."

"Shiro-kun! Stop being mean!"

"Stop calling me Shiro-kun!"

"I will when you go to the same school as I!" Hinamori Momo laughed heartily, as though somehow that day is still very distant. "Hinamori." Toushirou's voice was suddenly lower and subdued, his anger and agitation all vanished, and he bellowed, "I have something to tell you."

"Yes, Shiro-kun?"

"I am going to the Shinigami Academy with you after the holidays."

Blinks.

"OH MY GOODNESS! THAT IS GREAT SHIRO-KUN!!" A huge hug engulfed Toushirou. This was bad. It had completely encroached upon his natural comfort territory.

"Hinamori, Granny is sick because of me. I have to go."

"It's not your fault, Shiro-kun."

"STOP calling me Shiro-kun."

"I will call you Hitsugaya-kun when we are actually physically in the same school." Hinamori grinned victoriously. Some old habits die hard. Summertime in the first district of Rukongai was always a blooming sun and torturous heat waves. But the air was calm and the light was still, and it was the perfect place for Toushiro to sit and ruminate. Though nobody knows what actually goes on in his mind.

"Shiro-kun, you know. Just a few days ago, a new girl blasted off Zabimaru's fur!" Hinamori sat herself next to Toushirou under the roofed sideway and picked up a piece of watermelon. A line of seeds were projected into her face. "I don't care." Histugaya made a face. "C'mon I only come back once in a while. Be nice, Shiro-kun." Toushirou was callous as ever, but had it ever stopped Momo?

"She was cute. Pity that she was blind." At this comment, Hitsugaya sat up, a anomaly especially when Hinamori was recounting her tales. "You know, she couldn't see." She added. "Of course I know what blind is, baka." Toushirou threw an annoyed glance at Hinamori, "How did she look like? What is her name?"

Hinamori raised an eyebrow in a very bucolic manner. "Well, she was quite short, had shoulder-length hair, one side is longer than the other. It was a deep red. And she had these little spikes at the top of her hair. And her eyes, they were ENORMOUS! I was so surprised when I learnt that she couldn't see."

"Bed-wetter Momo. You really are stupid aren't you?" Toushirou narrowed his eyes.

"That is a mean thing to say, Shiro-kun."

"Don't you remember her? You've met her before. She was your little friend, isn't it? The one who lived next to the riverbank with her nii-san."

"You've seen them before?" Hinamori asked, a wave of recognition hit her, "I haven't seen her in decades!" She smiled broadly, "When I get back to school, I must introduce you to her!"

"You can't even remember her name, what position are you in to introduce people?" Hitsugaya growled at Hinamori.

"She didn't know me either. Don't be so mean Shiro-kun How do you remember her?" Momo asked.

"I have never seen her or her nii-san. But I've heard of them. From YOU." TOushirou said, his tone much soothed but still slightly choleric. Hinamori ruffled his hair, much to his protest, "C'mon Shiro-kun. Don't be so easily angered. Smile!" Hinamori grinned.

Hitsugaya was so tired, he decided to take a nap and think. Think about his future life in Shinigami Academy. Thinking about Momo's old, forgotten friend...

Reiatsu was floating around, violently deluging the little wooden hut.

"Was that woman...serious?" He could not help but wonder, as the summer blaze slowly descend.

The view is always best from the rooftop.


	7. Momosan, I

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach

**This Light I See**

By annyenil

"Eh. Momo-san. Who's that stuck-up brat and what is he doing here?" Renji nudged Hinamori, who was all smiles as she, Renji, Kira headed down the corridor past a black-faced (metamorphically), white-haired (literally) Hitsugaya Toushirou. "He's my friend, Abarai-kun, and he is just shy." Covertly, neither Izuru nor Renji believed that. "His reiatsu is very strong." Kira remarked in his usual taciturn manner. "Ahhhhh. Back to work. Holidays are over." Renji whacked Kira on the back, "And we better work hard because Shuuhei-sama is not in a good mood."

"Did he fail AGAIN?" Kira raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. Because he was so powerful, he blasted off everything, including the judges." Renji shrugged. Hinamori giggled a little, "Don't worry; I'm sure he will be fine." "So, Hinamori, where exactly are we going today?" Kira asked, even someone as arduous as him had lost sight of their busy schedule. "We have to train with those little bums again." Renji snorted. "And somehow you remembered?" Hinamori nudged Abarai-kun, whose eyebrows creased together a little, but found no words in his defence.

"I was friends with her." Hinamori looked up at the azure sky. "Hmmm?" Kira and Renji looked up, curious. "Who?"

"Kyoru-chan. I only remembered because Shiro-I mean Hitsugaya-kun reminded me. I haven't seen her in decades..."

"Forgetting a friend? How could you?" Renji gave Hinamori a hard, deprecating shove, albeit jokingly. Hinamori made a face, "Well, it wasn't like she remembered me, and it was all so long ago. I remember that I told her I wanted to be a Shinigami, and that she wanted to be one too. I am so glad we are both here today."

"But still...you actually FORGOT about her?" Renji made tsk-tsk sounds and Hinamori blushed in shame. Kira commented cooly, "I haven't seen that Rukia-chan for sometime.."

It was Renji's turn to blush. Kuchiki Rukia was yesterday's news. She was long gone. There was no way she'd be associated with him. Renji had to inhale several times to resist the urge to shout "Howl, Zabimaru" and bite Kira's head off. It was a good thing they soon arrived at the training ground for the first years. Practice was rather uneventful. It seemed that simple kidou spells were pretty effortless for the newbies except when direction was concerned. Super magnitude and complete dearth of direction required the bunch of them seniors to be around to guard them, in case the thick forest foliage was insufficient.

It was indeed insufficient especially under the hands of certain blind newbie who was now legendary for making a mockery of her senpai Abarai-sama and her two friends, who were equally matched when firing off balls of reiatsu. Toukaba Houseki was busy firing off silver fireballs off her hands while Utsukushii Taberu was blowing bits of sparkly blue explosive bits off her palm. Satomo Kyoru, desparately sensing her direction, was firing off red darts off her fingertips. Abarai Renji could no longer tolerate this random, no-target waste of spiritual energy, and after dodging a few perilous darts, he grabbed a surprised Kyoru by hand.

"WILL YOU FREAKING LEARN YOUR DIRECTION?? THE TARGET IS THERE!" Renji spun her 90 degrees. Without missing a beat, Kyoru nearly blasted off half of Kira's face. He blamed himself for underestimating the power of these uncontrollable hooligans. "AH!! Enough!"

But before Renji could speak a word, a shot of lightning swished past him at Kyoru. By now, Houseki, Taberu and many other shinigami trainees were staring. "Bakudou 1, First Restraint Obstruction." Hinamori barely raised a hand. "Kyoru!" Houseki and Taberu knelt down as their blind, unsuspecting friend suddenly shriveled up and collapsed onto the ground. "Hinamori-sama, please, what have you done to Kyoru?" Taberu asked, her voice quivering. "Don't worry. I just wish to speak to her without having destructive darts shot at me. This is only a restrain."

Kyoru's eyes were wide-open and filled with indignant anguish, but she could only circumvent by squeezing them shut tightly. Not that it would have made a difference.

"WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT??" Renji barked at the other newbies who had congregated about the little fracas. Soon, everyone was firing multicolored magic everywhere again. Many trees were extirpated.

"Kyoru. Satomo Kyoru. Do you remember me?" Kyoru searched her memories and found her answer, she had suspected all along that she and Hinamori senpai had met before, but it was only now that she realised. "Momo-san..." Kyoru said with a renewed sense of recognition. "Momo-san! I am so glad!" Kyoru smiled. "Kyo, tell me, why do you want to be a shinigami?"

"Because I want to protect myself and other people, instead of them protecting me all the time. Because I want to be free." Kyoru said with determination.

"I don't see it." Hinamori had an aberrantly austere tone in her voice, "You are just fooling around. You must sense, you must feel everything. Listen, feel, smell. Let your ears, nose and hands be your eyes." She gave Kyoru a little pat on the back. "I believe you can do it." But just then, no more must be said, for the class must continue, and such a conversation had disrupted the flow of the quick-moving magic. So, Hinamori let go of a shame-faced Kyoru and returned to the sideline of the training ground, watching with an anticipated expression. Renji and Kira could not say anything.

"BOOM!!"

The unexpected shook the ground. An explosion. Then all the trees around the newbies were frozen. Frozen, in the middle of summer. A few weaker shingamis were even stuck to the ground because of the sudden Ice Age. They were all thrown into panic. What had just happened? Was it a hollow attack? But why in the guarded training grounds? Renji and Kira raised their zanpakutous.

Hinamori frowned a moment, and then her eyebrows un-creased. She smiled.

"Oh, Histugaya-kun."


	8. Ice, Wind, Elements of Memory

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

**This Light I See**

By annyenil

News disseminated faster in Sereitei than anywhere else, such that many wondered if the hell butterflies had additional functions. Within less than a few hours, nearly everybody within the great walls knew of the new kid from Rukongai, Hitsugaya Toushirou. _The White-Haired Demon, the Snow Commander, the Ice Dragon. _He gained new alias quickly. The comrades in his form were mostly unable to comment on the incident.

Toushirou was made to perform the Chiishiyo Tesuto in front of his form because he had missed it at the start of that semester. The others congregated to watch how this curious new kid fared. "He's too puny to be of any good!" "How would you know? He skipped forms! Maybe he would be the next General Yamamoto-sama." "Well, at least he looks _better_." "You have seen General Yamamoto-sama?" "Of course, I am of a noble house, did you not remember?" These fluttering comments were exchanged inconspicuously behind Toushirou, and his tolerance was declining at an alarming rate. None of his comrades had come from the 1st District of Rukongai. They had no idea what he could do with a single glare, not to mention actually employing his hands.

Honestly, Hitsugaya Toushirou was unsure of how much power he had. But since his choleric temper had been triggered and his hands were now freely flowing with reiatsu, glowing, menacing blue reiatsu, he might just as well fire something at the clueless Fake Hollow growling before him. His eyebrows were knitted together in annoyance. Why is everything here so_ noisy_? _Maybe it was unwise to have followed that strange woman's advice and come here? _A pure white strand of hair fell over his eyes and slit his aqua green eyes into two halves burning with the same flame. It was his fault that his Grandmother had been frozen. What was that name? _What was that name in the dream……?_

"_S__ōten ni zase, __Hyōrinmaru!" _Hitsugaya's eyes opened wide as the words shot out of his mouth without control. Where had they come from? How……?

It was too late. A flood of ice with him as the confluence began spreading, so rapidly that many of the shinigami-in-training and nearby first-formers had been frozen. It was a precariously beautiful sight, so magnificent, the clear blue sparkles and pure white ice that had covered acres and acres of practice grounds. The Shinigami Academy had not seen such an exorbitant sight in centuries. The ice seemed to have descended from the azure sky, even the clouds seemed frozen in place, like a painting, everything went so still, so still.

On the first-form training ground, Hinamori quickly rushed to the aid of many first formers who had been knocked out. In fact, only three of them had escaped unscathed. A grey, misty shield had materialised over Houseki, Kyoru and Taberu. "I feel……cold……What has happened?" Kyoru asked, her lips purple and trembling. Houseki was quivering too, "I don't know. A shield just shot out of my hands." "Ice……ice……nothing but ice……" Taberu was shivering as well.

"You three! Don't just stand there! Come and help!" Renji shouted at the three first-formers as the seniors began defrosting the first-formers by means of demon magic and fire-zanpakutous and transporting them back to the Medic Centre. "What can we do?" They glanced at one another and glanced at their hands. None of the spells they had learnt so far would come in handy. Houseki only could produce a shield, and Kyoru's power outburst had been more of a punching sort. Taberu shrugged and began scratching ice off a nearby first-former with her katana. At first a little reluctant because of how silly it looked, Houseki and Kyoru could find no other means of doing this, and proceeded to scrape ice off their other fellow comrades.

"You know," Kyoru said, her hands sore from constant pummeling of her katana, "I think I saw something just now. A white flash of light." The other two remained silent while searching for words.

"Kyo-chan……do you know what white looks like?" Taberu simply had to ask. Houseki gave her a _look_. "I don't know. It just came to my mind that it felt like white." Kyoru had no notice of the exchange and answered with a straight-face. Kyoru's eyes were clouded with what seemed like a mixture of iced tears and grey mist. "What on earth is going on?" She questioned. The other two merely shrugged, and upon realising that the shrugged could not be detected, only meekly said "No." What ever that had just taken place had been frightening, shocking and it clearly had disturbed Kyoru.

"I need to know who made this ice." Kyoru avowed. "We will, very soon." Taberu said, swiftly hoisting a panitng girl whom she had just scraped out of ice. "C'mon, let's get going." The other two did similarly with their charge and headed for the Medic Centre in silence.

_This reiatsu……it is so oddly familiar. Who? Who could it be?_ Kyoru's heart raced. Her memories had no images for backup. Sounds and feelings are harder to preserve. She let the wind carry her weight as she stepped through glaciers and ice mountains.

The wind, the wind had always comforted her. The colours of seasons she could not tell; the brilliance of sunrise and sunset she could not sense; the sashes of beauty around her she could not see. The wind was one element of the world that had lullabied her from youth. She loved it because even if she could see things, she wouldn't be able to see the wind. The wind was her friend. Whenever Nii-san wasn't around, she would listen to the wind, feel the wind, sense the gentle fluid sliding past her fingertips. The wind would toy with her hair and dance around her when she was alone.

Now, the wind conveyed to her dissipated bits of this familiar reiatsu. Maybe this would lead her to a familiar face? Maybe this would lead her to her Nii-san?

The Shinigami Academy Medic Center was overcrowded and casualties were arriving still. The three friends lay down the victims of the incident they had rescued and were about to turn for the site when a voice called out, "Tabi-chan! Tabi-chan!" Taberu's eyes widened. "Hana-chan?" She grinned. Despite the debacle about them, it was a moment to stop and hug the friend she had not seen for awhile. "Stay and help us will you, Tabi-chan?" Taberu glanced at her other friends, "Houseki, Kyoru, this is my childhood friend, Yamada Hanatarou."

"Nice to meet you, I am Toukaba Houseki." "Nice to meet you, I am Satomo Kyoru."

"Nice to meet you too. Please come with me." Hanatarou took a deep bow and led the three shinigami-in-training to one of the wards to help with tasks that their abilities could manage. Soon, they found out that binding bandages with Bakudou spells and blasting off ice debris with tiny demon magic darts was a lot easier than standing in the middle of a sahara-like ice plain scraping off ice from statues of one's comrades. This made them much more efficient than they had been.

"Your friend is a medic?" Kyoru asked out of curiosity as the coldness in Shinigami Academy gradually abated. This welcoming attrition made them cozy and settled as they continued their tasks in peace. "Yes. He had always been quite nervous with swords, but Hana-chan's zanpakutou is very special. I'm so glad that he can fight and help people, too." They continued working silently in this manner. It had been long since they had a moment of tranquility to themselves, and this was much savoured. The air was a little chilly, but the sun was bright and comfortable.

Of course, by rule of the book, good things never last.

"SATOMO KYORU! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU??"

"_Uh-oh_."


	9. White Flash and Hurricane

**Author's Note**: Hello. Have been on hiatus for quite awhile. Just in case you can't remember what happened before, Hitsugaya just exploded and turned the Shinigami Academy into an Ice Palace and Kyoru, Houseki and Taberu were helping out in the medics centre when they were summoned……

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

**This Light I See**

By annyenil

"Abarai-sama, why do we have to clean up?" Toukaba Houseki looked up from the floor that she was scrubbing. Perspiration soiled the mahogany she had been polishing. Satomo Kyoru and Utsukushii Taberu nodded their heads in acquiesce. "It's not fair……we were even praised by the sensei. Why are we still punished?" Kyoru mumbled. Suddenly, a rough hand lifted her up from the floor and growled, "Will you quit complaining? Think of it as TRAINING! Besides, will you stop scrubbing my socks? They are dirty enough." A disgruntled Abarai Renji shook his head and dropped his junior back onto the floor. An ordinary first-former would have died from fear, but Kyoru, Houseki and Taberu were by now so accustomed to being ordered around by Renji that they simply bit their lips and tried not to laugh at the paper they had stuck to the back of Renji's shirt which read : "I am a red-haired baboon with receding hairlines."

"Don't be so stressed out. Abarai-kun has asked you three to help clean he hallways because most of our juniors are still in the medic centre, and us seniors have to prepare our showcase for the upcoming Visitation." Hinamori Momo explained to her charges with a gentle smile, lifting a sleeve to conceal her giggle when she caught glimpse of Renji's back.

"What's the Visitation?" Taberu asked, her hands covered in soap and her eyes barely open from accidentally rubbing in some with her lengthy sleeve. "I heard that there fukutaichous and seated officers from the Gotei 13 visiting the school today." Kyoru pronounced slowly and stately. Their hands and back were sore from the chores, but not an instant did they pause to rest in fear of disrupting the momentum. "I bet they are here to check out the whole ice incident." Houseki mused, "Maybe they'll take that kid back with them for research and dissection in the Twelfth Division."

"No. Of course they won't." Hinamori interrupted their mindless chat. "Hitsugaya-kun is a very talented boy, that is all. But I am sure he could do with some friends. Why don't I bring him here and let you guys talk to him?" Kyoru's lips turned up a little. And Houseki's eyes were twinkling with mischief. This kid had caused them much distress, fatigue and extra work. They were definitely not going to let him off this easy. The three of them silently exchanged hi-fives as an unsuspecting Hinamori Momo frolicked off to fetch her Shiro-chan to meet some new friends, without even considering how she was, in the first place, going to mobilize the stoic and choleric Ice Dragon to relocate to a soapy hallway with three chattering girls discussing the consequences of his extraordinary talent with considerable amounts of resentment.

"Aye, the three of you. Don't waste time. Let's quickly get this over and done with. Kira and I are going off for a sparring practice. Sayonara!" An impatient Renji quickly wheeled the miserable man out of the hallway. Even standing around inspecting his subordinates doing chores was too much of a chore to him. "Abarai-sama!" An annoyed Kyoru bolted up shot a binding spell at Renji's eyebrows. Renji tried to raise them, but couldn't, so he restrained his anger and simply commented, "Very good. You have improved your direction. In the future, please reframe from using me as a practice target." He said through gritted teeth and rushed off with Kira to locate Hinamori for help with untangling his magically knitted eyebrows.

A baffled Hinamori, meanwhile, was abandoned by Hitsugaya in the medic centre where he had been resting. Hitsugaya Toushirou had responded with such aberrant enthusiasm at the suggesting of making new friends that Hinamori could not help but suspect that he Shiro-chan was "at that age"……But Hitsugaya of course had something else on his mind as he briskly skimmed through the Academy for the correct hallway containing the reiatsu of three first-form girls. "Girls who have dodged my attempt……who could _she_ be one of them?"

His question was duly answered as he stepped into the hallway. Houseki and Taberu glanced up, a little out of breath due to the sudden presence of such an untamed and strong gust of reiatsu, chilling them to the bones. By now Kyoru was quite apt at sensing reiatsu and direction, but she did not look up, for she saw no purpose in such a gesture. Her heart pounded rapidly. _This reiatsu……could it be……?_ She had never seen, heard or sensed this foreign reiatsu before. Why was it so familiar. _Unless……_

"Erm. Hi." Houseki said awkwardly. "I am Toukaba Houseki. This is Utsukushii Taberu. And that is Kyoru Satomo." "I am Hitsugaya Toushirou." "White? Your name matches your hair!" Houseki remarked, tredding perilously on Toushirou's little bad-mood landmines. He wasn't going to waste his time. He had found her. There was no need to squander away precious time for the sake of mindless breeding of rumours and nicknames. "Toukaba-san and Utsukushii-san, Abarai-sama has requested that the two of you quickly go to the medic centre to attend to some business." Not daring to defy the words of the boy who had just frozen the entire school, Houseki and Taberu quickly scampered out of the hallway while Toushirou sat down next to Kyoru. She did not look up.

"So it was you." She said. Her heart was racing.

"Yes. It was. Sorry I had not recognized you at first. Nor did Hinamori." Toushirou replied, his eyes were shimmering a deep aquamarine, "I see you are much better at defending yourself now."

Kyoru's shoulders were heaving. So it was him. He was the flash of white light that had saved her from those mobbing hooligans when her Nii-sama hadn't been around. Why hadn't Nii-sama come save her? She grabbed his uniform, "Where did my Nii-sama go? Please tell me. You saw him, didn't you? You saw him……" Tears were now flowing freely, streaming down the girl's eyes in two thick lines. She shook a stunted Hitsugaya who was at loss of what to do and say. He gently removed her grasping hands from his shirt and placed them on her lap.

"I'm sorry, Satomo-san. I've never met your brother." Hitsugaya loathed playing the bringer of bad news.

"But he must have been around! You must have seen where he went!" Kyoru was shouting now. Hitsugaya merely shook his head and bowed low.

"You can defend yourself now. Train hard for yourself. Your Nii-sama……who knows when he would be back?" Hitsugaya tried talking sense into the hysterical girl.

Kyoru calmed down a little. "By the way," she wiped her tears off with her large sleeves, "Thanks for that one."

"It's all right." Toushirou was relieved that the girl was no longer irrational. Rationality was important whenever communication with him was concerned.

"What did you say?"

"I said that it is all right."

_Can you hear me, master? I am waiting for you._

"Who are you?"

"I am Hitsugaya Toushirou…Satomo-san, are you all right?"

"No! I was not speaking to you! Who is that?"

_Call my name now. Call for me._

"Who are you? What is your name? Come out now, don't hide!"

"Satomo-san! Are you all right?"

"Get out of the way. I need to find her. Where are you hiding? Who are you!"

_Search your heart. I am right there, in your soul._

_Call my name. _

"But I do not know your name! Reveal yourself. Now!"

"I shall go fetch Abarai-sama."

_Just speak the word._

"_Hāiso, Kamikaze!"_

Hitsugaya Toushirou had never been more shocked in his life as he was caught off guard and thrown to the floor twenty metres away, crashing through the ancient but sturdy mahogany. His consciousness slowly slipped through.

Kyoru Satomo wished she could look at her hands, for she knew she was holding something in her right hand. She panted as the weight pulled her to the floor. Her left hand felt for her katana. It was gone.

That meant that the "thing" that had suddenly materialized in her right hand was her……

"Hitsugaya-kun! What had happened?" A worried Hinamori charged into the hallway. She glared at Kyoru with fear in her eyes. "What have you done to Shiro-chan?"

"SATOMO! Why, you have caused trouble again. What is this?" an incredulous Abarai Renji arrived on the scene with his jaws hanging open. Houseki and Taberu were bewildered at the site of their friend standing amidst the thickening debris of her own creation.

"Hold it there." Renji stepped closer. "Is that thing in your hand……your _shikai_?"

"Hai, Abarai-sama."


	10. Revelations and Premonitions

**Author's Note**: Haven't written this for a long, long, long time. But I won't abandon it, because it's a story for my friends. And me. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

**This Light I See**

By annyenil

It had been a particularly dormant afternoon. The sun peeking through the foliage was thick and warm, so warm that even the breeze that swept quietly through the forest was heated. Satomo Kyoru, Utsukushii Taberu and Toukaba Houseki were slumped together under a tree for coverage as they drank up the water the had carried with them.

"Oh, no. I ran out." "Me too!"

The sunny summer had arrived. It had been only a few days after the stormy incident of Hitsugaya Toushirou and Kyoru's own unexpected release. After a stern telling off, however, both of them escaped with no punishment and were told merely to train for their Shikai Test.

The Shikai Test. That was what Taberu and Houseki were worried about, and the sole reason why they were training so hard in the forest. Neither of them had yet to produce or communicate with their zanpakutous. Infact, Kyoru hypothesized that her early release was somewhat related to the high aura of reiatsu around Toushirou. "Kyoru, why don't you get Hitsugaya-kun to ice things up a little? There is no way I can concentrate in this weather." Taberu looked up at Kyoru with a pair of shutting eyes.

"FOCUS!" A smack landed hard on Taberu's head.

"Owh!" She groaned and snarled at her attacker. Abarai Renji had arrived with Toushirou, both seemingly unfazed by the summer blaze. "What are you doing here, Abarai-sama, Hitsugaya-kun?"

"Very well, Satomo. You have mastered your sensing and direction." Renji commented, glancing at Taberu and Houseki. "What on earth are you two doing? Why are your reiatsu so scattered?" "Well……the weather is rather distracting. Besides……"

"Since you have no heart to train anymore, why don't you guys come with us?" Renji asked, putting his hands behind his head. "The Gotei Thirteen Visitation." Toushirou spoke. "Ooooh!" His comment solicited squeals and hustle from the girls as the party sauntered towards the Academy grounds.

A crowd had congregated and they had to squeeze their way through in order to see who had arrived. "Do you know them, Abarai-sama?" Kyoru asked, unfamiliar with the strong reiatsu entering the Academy. "The first one is the legendary Tousen taichou of the Nineth Division, following him is Shiba Kaien, fukutaichou of the Thirteenth Division and the last, Matsumoto Rangiku Seventh Seat of the Tenth Division."

"Goodness, Kyoru! I wish you could see this! Tousen taichou has purple hair!" Houseki grabbed onto Kyoru's wide sleeves, almost hopping up and down to catch short glimpses of the visitors. What a novel sight, what peculiar reiatsu! Kyoru's heart was filled with awe as she delicately sensed the incoming reiatsu. She had been parochial to think herself capable just because she had achieved shikai. How arrogant of her, she bowed her head in shame. The Officers walked through the welcoming party of students and occasionally stopped to speak to a student her and there.

"That woman……" Toushirou mumbled to himself and Matsumoto cheerfully pranced over and squashed him between her blossom, much to the envy of many male students. Matsumoto had recently been appointed Officer and was able to tag along on this trip because the Gotei Thirteen had wanted her to report on the progress of the boy genius Hitsugaya Toushirou. "How are you doing, Shiro-chan?" She bent over, spilling her frontal assets all over, tugging at Toushirou's stretched cheeks. "Don't call me Shiro-chan!" Matsumoto ignored his protest and continued to shower him with her doting attention, rousing a mob to encircle about him, with Matsumoto grinning and whispering into his reluctant ear, obviously enjoying the cynosure.

On the other side, Tousen was drawing the eyes of many at his exotic appearance. Houseki noticed that he had, for a split second, glanced their way and seemed to mutter to himself after seeing Kyoru. An idea, a strange, most out-of-the-world idea was forming in her head. Kyoru was blind from birth. _Could it be that her Nii-sama……_But she had little time to react as a tall, energetic young man approached them. "How are you doing?" Shiba Kaien had stretched out his hand to Houseki. "The Toukaba heir, aren't you?" He extended his friendship to the girl whose clan had similarly fallen, just as his own Shiba clan. "I hope you will do well." He winked and turned away to the others, leaving her dizzy from both the smile and the reiatsu.

"Houseki……" She felt a tug a her sleeve. "Let's leave." It was Kyoru. They grabbed Taberu and escaped to a quiet corner of the Academy to exchange their information and thoughts.

"Kyoru, could it be that Tousen taichou was your……Nii-sama? He seems the right age." Taberu spoke their minds.

"Taberu, just because he is blind doesn't mean that we are necessarily related."

"But……"

"I don't think it is him. I remember Nii-sama's reiatsu."

"But it might have changed, since he obviously got powerful……."

"Never mind about me. Houseki, who did Renji-sama say was that man again? The big one who talked to you?"

"I think he was Shiba Kaien, head of the fallen noble clan Shiba."

"Houseki……maybe I wasn't feeling well with all that reiatsu, but I think something bad is going to happen to him."

"Bad? What do you mean?"

"I saw a bright flash of light, and I had this intuition thing. Houseki, I am serious."

"It was probably the reiatsu. Don't worry, Kyoru, nothing bad can happen." Houseki's eyes were drifting off. The three sat in silence, deep in their own thoughts. Taberu was very certain that Kyoru was somehow related to the purple-haired man with an air of hypocritical justice enveloping him; Kyoru was deeply concerned for the charismatic, carefree man whom she felt certain had looming doom awaiting him at the corner, while Houseki's mind was far, far away……

She reached into her uniform and pulled out the short bit of pink ribbon, fingering it, remembering those days. She had not dared to approach the lady, because she was afraid she wouldn't remember her. But the ribbon around her neck, was identical the one she held in her hand. Houseki closed her eyes and frowned, deep in thought. Why hadn't she dared to talk to her? She was her friend wasn't she? _Have you forgotten me? Rangiku-san……_

Toying with it, Houseki stood up with her friends as darkness approached. Not a word was spoken between them. Until Kyoru finally shattered the silence, "Whatever happened today, let's not put it on our minds. After all, the first shikai test is coming up."

"Yeah. I agree."

"Me too. I am so worried, I haven't gotten anything to materialize. We need to train really hard, right?"

That night, Houseki had a terrible dream. A dream of today, yesterday and tomorrow. There was this mist, this mist that just wouldn't go away. She saw, she saw Shiba Kaien bathed in blood, she saw a girl with black hair screaming in agony. She saw many, many horrible things. A cacophonic shriek pierced through the mist at her, but the thick mix wouldn't dissipate. Instead, it advanced on her, shrouding her, suffocating her. Houseki tried, she tried to wake up, she tried to beat herself, but this felt more than a dream.

_This is not a dream, Toukaba._

The cloud spun her around like in a tornado. Houseki wasn't afraid. She was completely overwhelmed. What was that voice? What was going on?

Shiba Kaien! She must save him! Something bad had happened to him!

Or had it been a dream?

What was going on…?

_I am speaking to you……Respond, Toukaba._

Who was it? What was that?

_Don't you known my name? _

Shiba-sama, what had happened? Rangiku-san, was she in danger too?

Why hadn't she spoken to Rangiku-san? Why hadn't she dared too?

_Get a grip, Toukaba. I am waiting for you._

Who are you? What is going on? Rangiku-san……

_C'mon, call me. Call my name……_

Houseki woke up bathed in cold sweat. She shook Taberu and Kyoru awake. But neither of them responded. Shivering and cold to the heart, she shriveled up against the window and gazed outside. The moon was a thin crescent, so faint that it was almost covered.

Covered by the thick grey mist that had enveloped the entire of Houseki Toukaba's world. She was numb, she was alone. She was very most afraid. She glanced at the heaving backs of Taberu and Kyoru. She thought of the retreating back of Matsumoto Rangiku, her eyes stinging. "Talk to me, somebody. Please……" She began to sob, her arms tightening around herself protectively, her heart racing. What was the strange sensation approaching?

_I am talking to you. Don't you know me, Toukaba Houseki?_

_I am-_


End file.
